This is not specific to Kumamoto but I think it’s related to this and any Facebook page. Facebook functions as an unregulated utility in many ways. This story is about a move to regulate it in the U.S.
Though not directly related to the thrust of this NPR article, it reminds me of an area where I have felt dissatisfied with a Facebook policy. My concern has to do with what happens when someone like me decides to allow people to write reviews about a page. What I learned recently is that the reviewer is able to delete any comments that I make to try to rebut the arguments (including out-and-out lies) of the reviewer. Facebook not only allows the reviewer to delete rebuttals but even I as the “owner” of the page cannot confirm that that is what has happened (or who did the deleting). In the recent case, the reviewer let me know that he had read and understood my rebuttal before deleting it by paraphrasing it and redirecting it to me (a very trollish technique). Also the fact that repeated attempts to post the same content later disappear were also a clear indication of what had happened.
Facebook seems to prefer a “clean” appearance that has no indication of deleted material. By contrast, Blogger (Google) lets the owner delete comments but the fact that something has been deleted is apparent. So, Facebook’s preference for a “clean” appearance trumps our right to know that what we see is not the full picture. “Clean” deletion may be best in some situations, but I think there are other situations where it is actually misleading.
One insidious aspect of such Facebook “laws” regarding how we can and cannot interact is that they are unpublished. I only figured out how things work as a result of a recent problem. Another problem is that Facebook is famous for changing rules abruptly with little or no explanation. So, communicating on Facebook can be a little bit like living in a benevolent dictatorship where “law” is the ever-changing whim of the dictator. Since the dictator is benevolent, life is usually pretty good, but if there’s a problem there’s not much one can do.
At any rate, I think it behooves us all to consider the problematic aspects of this platform, even as we enjoy and benefit from various positive aspects. Personally, I think that, as an information “utility,” some sort of regulation is probably in order, though I recognize that the regulation itself may wind up being very problematic, especially if citizens are not vigilant.
– Kirk
